Ursa Faulkner
by piperup1030
Summary: Stories with my OC and the Phantomhive gang. Constructive criticism and ideas are welcome. Meet Ursa Faulkner, the Phantomhive's nurse... and beast.
1. Ursa's Beginning

Five different people shoved me onto the cross.

I should have never gone off the path…

The thick ropes stung my wrists as they were knotted for a second time.

I should have stopped after I saw the witch's hut…

The shouts hurt my ears. My head was spinning. My vision is getting blurry.

I should have never told her my name.

Ten years. I was safe for ten years. But with one stupid slip-up, I was caught. Now I'm sentenced to death by my own village. My neighbors. My _Family._ I could see my mother and my father in the crowd. Their eyes were cold with hatred. My brother just looked scared, as if he was horrified by the fact that he had been living with such a monstrosity for so many years.

The priest set fire to the wood below me. I bit my lip and squeezed my eyes shut, feeling the fire scorch my bare feet. A small speck of hot ash flew up from the crackling flame and landed just below my lip, burning the flesh.

I couldn't help it. I cried out from the pain. The humiliation. The betrayal.

"Ursa Faulkner is sentenced to death by flame for 'aving association with a possible antichrist and possessing an un'oly ability!" The priest boomed. "She will be banished from this universe with the flames from he who she worships and the power o' God!"

The crowd roared. They had torches and pitchforks and sticks. I considered them friends once. Now they wanted me dead. It's funny how fast things like that can all change, eh?

The fire grew bigger, reaching my ankles.

I had an idea. A crazy idea that might not even work. But it was worth a try. Anything is better than this.

I closed my eyes, and my heart leapt when I felt the sensation I had grown familiar with. Fur grew all over my body, my teeth grew, my brownish-red eyes had begun to blare, my back arched.

The crowd cried and screamed. The ropes broke away and I fell onto all fours. I turned to my family's direction and snarled.

And I took off. People's hips bumped into my broad shoulders, knocking them to the ground. Men tried to stab my head with pitchforks, but I ducked and ran into their legs.

I broke away into the brush. I forgot about the pain in my feet. I could hear the mob behind me.

Keep running… Never look back…

I felt alive. Terrified, but alive. The green and brown of the woods whipped past me. The shouts slowly grew quieter and quieter.

 _I'm faster than them._

I howled, as if I was teasing them. _Sayonara, you damned raj's._

But I stopped to an abrupt hault. Two people stood in front of me. They were dressed quite nicely, the man in dress clothes and a tailcoat, and the younger boy looked like a noble. Figuring they wanted me dead like everyone behind me, I arched my back and snarled. They didn't flinch or raise a gun or… anything.

Instead the man opened his mouth and talked in a steady manor. "It appears that you are in quite the rush, so I'll get right to the point." His accent wasn't scottish, like mine, but english. I morphed back into human form and looked him in the eye. "I will offer you a spot at our estate. We are in need of a nurse." He looked behind me. "It seems like you're in quite the rush, so it would be wise to make a decision quickly."

Who was this guy? How did he know where I was? Why me? But when I heard, "There she is!" From behind me, I figured I didn't really have a choice. "I-I'll take it!"

The man reached out his hand to help me up. I reached up and touched his palm.

That's the last thing I can really remember from that moment. I blacked out.

We were on a train. I sat alone in the seat closest to the front of the train, and the boy and the man sat together in the seat in front of me. The boy was Ciel Phantomhive, the Earl of the manor I would be working at and the head of a company called Funtom Toys. The man was Sebastian Michaelis, the boys' butler.

The ride from Scotland to England was long, about twelve hours. And than we had get in a carriage for another hour to reach the manor. Ciel had fallen asleep. Me and Sebastian had been talking for a while. About the things I would be doing at the manor and the other people that worked there. Mey-rin, the housemaid, Baldroy, the chef, Tanaka, the House Steward, and Finnian, the gardener.

"I'm glad we found you for our nurse," Sebastian said. "Considering you had medical experience back in your village, am I correct?"  
I was shocked. "I was 'ealer's apprentice…" I cocked my head. "'Ow did you know tha'...?"

He smiled and shrugged. "I'm just one hell of a butler." He said. I laughed.

I pushed my long, curly black hair out of my face. The pain in my feet had started to grow, and I gripped the seat, trying to distract myself. Sebastian noticed. "Is something wrong, miss?"

I gulped. "The fire scorched my feet pretty badly…" I said, looking away.

"May I take a look?" He asked. I nodded pulled the burt ends of my dress up a little. I somehow managed to get on the train barefoot.

My feet were red and black. I had my feet pointed when I was on the cross, so it was more the tops and my toes. Sebastian bent down onto the floor of the train and carefully cupped my feet in his hands. "Yes, I'm afraid that's rather horrid," he said. "But we have the utensils and medication for healing this at the manor, so I wouldn't worry too much." He stood up again. "We will also have a change of clothes for you. I noticed the flames got to your gown, also."

I smiled and blushed. "Thank you. I appreciate it." I looked at him. "Is every'n at the manor english?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so. Why do you ask?" He said kindly.

I sighed. "It's gonna be a bit weird bein' around people with such different accents. I've only heard someone else's once or twice, tha's all."

Basically we did that for the last hour and a half of the ride. Ciel woke up when the train stopped. We got out and found the carriage that Sebastian had mentioned earlier. Tanaka was up front. I attempted a curtsy at him and followed the other two into the small compartment.

After the hour, Tanaka pulled up to the mansion. I gaped at it. Sebastian smirked at my expression. "Do they not have mansions in Scotland?"

"Well sure, yeah, but not where I lived." I smiled. We walked up to the mansion. When we hit the steps, I realized I was still barefoot. Great.

I followed Sebastian, Ciel, and Tanaka up the steps. The doors were huge. Sebastian pushed them open and we were greeted by three people.

Sebastian closed the door behind us and stepped in. "Ah. Ursa, here are the people I brought up earlier; meet Baldroy, Mey-rin, and Finnian."

Bardroy wore a stereotype chef's outfit, with the white jacket, black boots, and a long white apron around his waist and down his legs. He had dirty blonde hair, bright blue eyes, goggles around his neck, and a fag dangling from his lip.

Mey-rin wore a blue and white maid's outfit, a bonnet, and large circular glasses. She had magenta hair with nicely cut bangs, tied back into short pigtails.

Finnian was the shortest of them all. He had blonde hair, held back by five red bobby pins. He wore a slightly baggy white shirt with a red collar, plaid shorts, black boots, and a straw hat tied around his neck. I noticed a brown leather pouch loosely tied around his waist.

They all smiled. Finnian gave me an enthusiastic "Hello!" Again, I attempted a curtsy.

"I am going to take the young master up to his study," Sebastian said. "Mey-rin, will you please show Ursa where she will be sleeping and work area?"

"Of course, Mr. Sebastian!" She walked over and kindly took my arm. I followed her up the stairs.

My room was on the third floor. I shared with Mey-rin, and the boys were across the hall and a few paces to the right. They're two beds on each end of the room, two nightstands, and two wardrobes. There were three windows with dark purple drapes, each one open half-way. "I'm so excited to have a roommate, yes I am!" Mey-rin squealed. "Look at you, you're a mess!" She walked over to the wardrobe which was apparently mine and opened it. I noticed about four black dresses, one being much nicer than the others. I'm guessing that was for special occasions.

She reached up and took one off, managing to bring the other three down with her. "Oh my goodness I'm so sorry!" She fretted. "I-I didn't mean too!"

I rushed over. "Keep the heid! I's alright!" I picked the dresses up and put them back in the wardrobe. She looked at me, confused. "Keep the heid means 'stay calm'."

She handed me the dress. I slipped out of my charred, dirty gown and put the new one on. It was black with a grey patch from the collar down to just below my chest that was outlined with small ruffles and had four buttons. I closed the buttons and looked down. "I've never really owned somethin' this nice."

"It looks good on you, yes it does!" Mey-rin smiled. She handed me a pair of plain white socks and black shoes. I slipped those on, glad to cover my burned feet. "Here, I'll show you the infirmary, where you'll be working!" I sat up and followed her.

The room was medium-sized, with pale yellow walls, a bed in the corner, a counter with a sink and cupboards above it, and a closet. I looked inside the wooden armoire. There were extra bedsheets and pillowcases, empty vaccine tubes and needles, towels and washcloths, and other materials that would come in handy. I also noticed aprons that I guessed were for me while I was working.

"It's not that much right now, but it'll grow over time." Mey-rin assured me.

"I love i' as i' is." I smiled. The cupboards had a lot of herbs and mixtures (I recognized mostly all of them), a notebook, and pens.

There was a knock on the closed door. Mey-rin opened it, and Finnian walked in, holding several daisies. He handed them too me and smiled. "A house-warming gift, I guess."

"Awe, tha's sweet." I took them and smiled. "Thank you, lad." I took a bowl from the closet, filled it with water, and put the daisies in. "Nothin' fancy, bu' I'll fin' somethin' better later."

"You have an herb garden outside." Finnian told me, his hands behind his back. "I can show where it is, if you'd like."

"Sure, I'd love tha'." I brushed the hair out of my face and followed the boy out the door.

"I can take that, if you would like." Mey-rin asked, motioning toward the charred dress that I just now noticed was still in my hand. I smiled and let her take it. "If ya' could, jus' get rid of it. I won' need it anymore." I said. She nodded and walked out.

I followed Finnian out to the garden. It was absolutely beautiful; flowers and plants of basically every color imaginable, healthy trees, a beautiful stone walkway. Yes, growing up in a village that was bordering a forest, I'm used to lots of flora, but nothing compares to this. "Finnian, di' you do all this?!" I asked, awed. "I's astoundin'!"

"Well, me and Sebastian, really. I did most of it. Sebastian…" he looked down and rubbed the back of his neck. "...fixes my mistakes."

I bit my lip, not sure how to respond. "Well, you and 'im do a great job, lad, 'cause this is beautiful."

He smiled. "Thank you… you're nice. Here, I-I'll show you the herb garden." We walked down the path. "You can call me Finny, if you want. That's what Bard and Mey-rin call me."

I looked at him and smirked. "Alright, Finny i' is. I like tha'. An' Bard is the one with the fag in 'is mouth, right?" He looked at me, confused. "A fag is… um… ah! What's i' called to an englishman?" I pressed two fingers to my mouth, and then drew them away and blew.

"Oh! A cigarette!" Finny said. I snapped my fingers, "Yeah, that's it! Jesus Christ, be ready to not undertan' a word I say fer a while."

Finny laughed. "I'll get used to it."

We reached the garden. It stood out from everything else, giving it reason to be in back. All the plants had pegs beside them with their names. "Well I feel rather special," I joked. Finny smiled.

I stepped into the garden, careful not to step on anything. Ginger, spearmint, ephedra, echinacea, chamomile, feverfew, foxglove, and more. I could basically recite all the names and what they do. Except for about three or four, but I could ask Sebastian about that.

"What's that one?" Finny pointed to a plant with dainty yellow flowers and a thin stem.

"Yarrow. I' 'elps to stop and start bleedin', and makes you vomit." I recited.

Finny laughed. "What about… that one?"

"Um… Lovage! 'elps when yer eyes are red and eases inside pains, like stomach cramps."

We did that for about another five minutes, naming every herb in the garden and giving it's meaning, except for the four I was unfamiliar with. "Wow, you're really good!" Finny laughed. I smiled and turned with him to walk back. "Dinner's gonna be ready soon," Finny said. "Hey, um, what's your accent?" He asked. I was kinda surprised that he didn't recognize it.

"Scottish." I answered. "Lived there mah whole life, up until yesterday."

"Yesterday? You just got here today?" Finny said.

"Yeah, well, thirteen hours on a train and in a carriage. Sebastian picked me up yesterday evenin', spent all night on the train, then got 'ere."

"Oh…" he looked forward. "Do you think you'll like it here?"

I laughed. "I already do."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Do you think we'll be friends?"

I smiled and ruffled his hair. "Definitely, lad."


	2. Reveal

I had been working at the manor for a little over two weeks now. So far, I've had to check Tanaka after he exhausted himself after being normal-sized for too long, and treat a minor (but still painful) burn on Bard's forearm after an accident in the kitchen. The notebook and pens came in handy. I'd use them to take notes on the things I wasn't familiar with, and other things I should get to have around. The herb garden was really nice, too. I've been there about three times, to pick and weed and water.

I was there now. I kneeled down and gathered ginger and spearmint (mostly). Luckily, I didn't have to garden in a dress, for a was given change of gardeners clothes. They were similar to Finny's, but the pants were darker and went down to my ankles, and the neckline on the shirt was longer.

I slapped my hands on my knees and sighed, satisfied with my work. I picked up the basket and turned around, only to see Finny walking up behind me. I smiled at him. "Good afternoon, lad. I was jus' finishin' up. Need anythin'?"

"Actually, can I show you something?" He asked. "It'll be quick, promise."

I smiled and nodded. "Follow me," he said. I followed in his side and walked with him to the farthest side of the garden, the basket of herbs resting on the crook of my arm. "So… what was Scotland like?" He asked.

I smiled. "It was beautiful. I grew up in a small village surrounded by trees and boulders and such, and my brother and I would always race to the top of this one pine tree with low branches." I smiled at the memory. "It rained a lot, too, so it was always super humid in the warmer months. And I didn't live by any of 'em, but Scotland has these huge stone castles. They're beautiful. I've been in one of 'em a few times over 'oliday."

Finny smiled at my rambling. We reached a path that lead up a hill, canopied by trees. "What about you, where did you grow up?"

He seemed to lose all color. "Oh, u-um, here in England, that's all." He nearly choked while speaking. I cocked my head and raised my eyebrow. He flushed and looked away.

"You a'right, bunny?" I asked, patting his back. He nodded nervously.

Something was wrong, I could feel it, but it was apparent he didn't want to talk, so I just decided to leave it alone. After a bit he looked up at me. "Did you call me 'bunny'?"

I smiled. "Yeah. You remind me of one. Quick an' gentle an' innocent."

He smiled. "I like it."

We walked for a few minutes in silence, until Finny stopped. "Here." It was a cliff's edge, canopied with trees and a woodsy hill on the right side. You could clearly see the sun going down and the sky beginning to turn an orange-pink color. "Finny, 'ow did you find this?"

"I chased a rabbit up here last night."

"Anotha' reason t'call you bunny," I laughed. We sat down at the edge of the cliff and looked over. "How old did you say you were?"

"Sixteen," he said. "Um, I know it's rude to ask a woman, but may I ask you the same question?"

I smiled. "Of course. I'm seventeen."

We looked over the edge and watched the sun dip lover into the horizon. "Are you sure we won' get in trouble for this?" I asked him.

"I'm not sure. We should probably head back down, though. We've been up here for a while." He got to his feet and offered me his hand. I took it and hoisted myself up, grabbing the basket as I did so. We turned around, and I gasped.

Blocking our way down the hill was a large, black panther. It's haunches were raised and it's pupils were dilated. It didn't look very friendly.

"Oh my, what a beautiful thing!" Finny gushed. He took a step closer and reached his hand out.

"Finnian…" I said quietly.

The panther snarled and lunged. Finny screamed, unprepared. Without thinking, I morphed into the abnormally large bear that had the power to become and rammed my head into the feline's side and sent it crashing onto the side of the hill. It got up and swung its claws, aiming for my eyes. I dodged it and roared as loudly as I could. Seeing that I was over double its size, the panther doubled back and ran back into the woods.

I shrunk and straightened as I turned back into the seventeen year old.

Finny was on the ground, his eyes wide and his chest falling and rising rapidly. His face was pale, and he looked terrified.

Just like my brother.

I wanted to apologize for being what I was, for making him see that side of me. I wanted to make him forget. But nothing came out of my mouth.

I took off down the hill, wanting to die in a hole. I went past the herb garden, the rose patch, the gate, through the doors and up to my office. My eyes burned as I changed back into the black ankle-length dress.

I couldn't believe it. Now Finny is afraid of me. My one chance at a new opportunity, and I blew it two weeks in.

Someone knocked on the door. I straightened up and wiped my eyes. "Come in," I called.

The door opened with a slow creak. Finny stepped in and set the basket of herbs down, making me just now realize I had left them behind. My heart pounded in my chest. "Finny, I-" the words caught in my throat. "...I'm so sorry."

An awkward silence fell down. I stared at my lap while he looked at the floor. He broke the silence after a few moments. "What did you do?"

I rubbed my forehead. "When I was young, I went off of a trail tha' lead to town. As I went along, I met a…" I struggled to utter the the next few words. "…a witch. And… s-she did not like the fact tha' I was on her… t-territory or whatever." My eyes burned and my voice cracked. "So… sh-she asked me fer my name." A sad laugh escaped my chest. "And bein' the stupid seven ye'r old I was, I told 'er. And my name means 'bear' in Latin, so tha's what she cursed me with. The ability to turn into a bear." I sniffled and wiped my eyes. "I went ten years withou' anyone findin' out. Then with one slip up… I was tied to a cross and sentenced to death by flames within an hour." A fat tear ran down my cheek.

I finally found the courage to look up at him. "I'm so sorry you 'ad to see tha'"

Finny stared at the ground, twiddling his thumbs. Ursa didn't scare him anymore, he understood. She had told him her story. What scared him was that he would have to tell her his.

"I didn't grow up in england," he blurted. "W-well I might've, but- I-I don't know!" He wiped his eyes as soon as he felt them burn.

 _I'm not going to cry, not in front of her._

"I grew up in a lab, or a ward or something. T-that's why I wear the hat around my neck…" He removed the hat and showed her the tattoo on the nape of his neck. _**S-012**_. She gasped. He turned around and started again. "T-they would-" he was cut off when he choked down a sob. She noticed how hard it was for him to speak.

Ursa got up and stepped toward Finny. He looked down, not wanting her to see him like this. A force pulled him into her shoulder. Something physical.

Looking up, he saw that her arms were around his neck. _She_ was doing this. Holding him. And she wasn't doing it like the scientists would, harshly, too tight and/or forced. It was tight, but in a comforting and warm way. He'd never been held like this. Sure, he held his friends back at the lab, but that was when they were both scared, when they had to lean on one another. In this, Finny could put all his weight on the girl and she'd be able to support him. This was only for him.

He put his arms around her and buried his nose in the curve of her neck. His emotional walls came crashing down as the tears escaped and his lip quivered. She brought one hand down and placed it on his side, and brought her other hand to the back of his head and stroked his continuously growing hair. Finny held her tightly, but not tight enough to hurt her.

After a bit, he found his voice, and started to speak again while she still held him. "They would poke me with needles everyday, with this thing that made me really strong. It was a few other people like me a-and I. I-I had to-" he sobbed, cutting himself off. "I had to kill them! I had to kill them! Ursa, they made me kill them! It was horrible, I didn't want to!"

Ursa held him tighter and swayed slightly. Finny sobbed into her shoulder. "It's all over, though. Hush, Bunny, it's all over. I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry..." She cooed.

"I don't wanna hurt anybody," he whimpered. "Ursa, what if they find me. What if they take me back?"  
"They'll 'afta shoot me down first," she scoffed. "And I'm an oversized bear for god sakes."

He sniffled and looked up at her with big, puffy eyes. "Really?"

Ursa shrugged. "Of course. I's wha' friends do. Well, not usually, but you get it."

Finny chuckled and pulled her in again. "Thank you." He liked how he feld like nothing could hurt him when she was by him. "I like it here because young master doesn't do any of that. I don't haft to hurt people. I can go outside freely and I'm not something that can just be tossed around." He paused. "I'm a person here."

She bent down a bit and kissed his forehead. "Yes you are. Don't ever forget tha', Finnian."

He smiled. "Let's just hope Bard and Mey-rin feel the same."

"Oh, I'm sure they will, Bunny."

"Hey, Ursa?"

"Aye."

"Thank you… for holding me." He blushed. "I needed it."

She smirked and kissed his forehead again. "Any time, Bunny."


End file.
